Kansas.com: Local

Inauguration trip is short of funds

CHRISTINA M. WOODS — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:38 CST

The African American Council of Elders and the Knox Center Inc. may be forced to scale back plans to take local youths to the presidential inauguration because they haven't received donations.

So far, the group has raised about $3,000 -- far less than the $9,000 to $15,000 members hoped to secure to charter a bus for more than 40 young people to attend the swearing-in ceremony.

Elders are selecting youths ages 12 to 18 to travel to Washington, D.C., Jan. 19-22 based on their essays, "Why I want to be president of the United States of America."

The Knox Center, a drug and alcohol counseling center, which is overseen by an elder, is helping coordinate the trip.

The group has only about 15 respondents -- fewer than expected -- due to holiday vacations.

Arena spire is latest addition to Wichita skyline

CHANDRA STAUFFER — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 06:01 CST

Intrust Bank Arena got a little taller Tuesday. Dozens of people gathered to watch as an 80-foot spire was raised to its perch on the south side of the arena. The stainless-steel pole, fabricated in New York, is the tallest point of the building at 160 feet. It weighs 3,400 pounds.

The spire's raising is a milestone in the project and gives people a chance to stand back and admire the work, said Sedgwick County Commission chairman Tom Winters.

"This will keep the progress in the public eye," he said. "I think this is the most significant change to the Wichita skyline since Century II."

Arena construction is slightly ahead of schedule, he said. The arena is set to open in January 2010.

The spire is for aesthetic purposes only and will be lit by a spotlight at night.

Forum assesses health care access

KAREN SHIDELER — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:38 CST

Five years after Sedgwick County leaders convened a summit to find ways to improve the community's health, there's been progress, participants at a forum said Tuesday.

• United Way of the Plains' 211 system is the one-stop source of information for health care options.

• Local safety net clinics say they can be medical homes to more people without insurance.

• A Health Access Project Web site has been launched as part of the county Health Department's Web site: http://sedgwickcounty.org/healthdept/healthaccess.asp.

But much remains to be done, the participants agreed as they looked at the next steps that should be taken to increase access to health care.

City Council District 6: Aldrich would seek cut in Wichita property taxes

BRENT D. WISTROM — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 06:02 CST

Bob Aldrich wants to reduce the city's share of your property taxes -- not just to make life a little bit cheaper, but to put more money in businesses' hands so they can grow and add jobs.

He does not, however, think that the 1-cent sales tax floated by city officials last year would be the best way to cut property taxes, especially now that people are cutting back on spending in tough economic times.

"Where do you think we'd be right now if we had done that?" he asked.

Instead, he said, the city should look for efficiency and be careful about projects it funds.

Aldrich, 53, filed for the District 6 Wichita City Council seat Tuesday, joining a three-person race with Janet Miller and Ken Thomas.

City Council District 6: Thomas hopes to pump life into diverse district

BRENT D. WISTROM — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 06:00 CST

Ken Thomas wants Wichita to capitalize on these things: its pool of aerospace engineers, a movement toward wind energy, and the city's north industrial corridor.

Those, along with more federal dollars, could help reinvigorate City Council District 6, a diverse area that he would like to represent in City Hall.

Thomas, a 50-year-old plant manager at TreatCo., filed last week for the seat that will be vacated by Sharon Fearey.

Fearey can't run again because of term limits. Janet Miller and Bob Aldrich are also running for the position.

Thomas said he would ask a lot of questions and keep a close eye on tax dollars as a council member.

Man pulls gun to defend music choice, police say

STAN FINGER — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:39 CST

A 46-year-old man went to jail Monday over a song.

The man was arrested after he pulled a rifle on another man at a convenience store in southeast Wichita, police said.

A 53-year-old man had stopped for gas pumps at Harry and Webb shortly before 4:30 p.m. Monday when a second vehicle pulled up to a nearby pump.

The music blaring from the second vehicle was so loud that the first man asked the other driver to turn it down. When he didn't, the first man asked him again.

Police said the second driver responded by walking to his trunk, pulling out a small rifle and pointing it at the first man.

Butler County sheriff to search river area, a home in boy's disappearance

STAN FINGER AND LORI O'TOOLE BUSELT — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 05:58 CST

Butler County sheriff's officers plan to serve a search warrant today at an undisclosed residence outside Butler County in the disappearance of Adam Herrman, Sheriff Craig Murphy said.

Also, beginning Saturday morning, investigators plan to search the Whitewater River area south of K-254 looking for clues in the case of the Butler County boy who was last seen in 1999, he said.

A computer-enhanced photo showing what Adam might look like if he were still alive became available late Tuesday. He would now be 21.

The Alexandria, Va.-based National Center for Missing and Exploited Children age-progressed a childhood photo of Adam to a composite drawing of a 21-year-old man.

Murphy said that he hopes someone somewhere will recognize the photo as someone they know.

Wichita City Council OKs funding for Ken-Mar renovation

BRENT D. WISTROM — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 08:18 CST

The aging Ken-Mar shopping center at 13th Street and Oliver will soon get a major renovation using $2.5 million in property tax dollars and about $5 million in private investment under a plan the Wichita City Council approved Tuesday.

The area now has a strip mall, a Dollar General store and a payday loan business.

Under the redevelopment plan, the buildings will get new facades, roofs and other improvements.

The parking lot will be repaved and new lighting and landscaping will be added. It will be paid for with tax increment financing, which channels any increase in property tax revenue in the area to pay for site improvements, land acquisition, and other financing expenses the developer would otherwise have to pay for.

Council member Lavonta Williams said the forthcoming improvements are already making a difference.

Kansas wonders reach into business

BECCY TANNER — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 01:39 CST

The finalists in a statewide commerce contest are hard to categorize, ranging from nuclear power plants to a toy marble company.

From brickmakers to pie bakers, the 24 finalists offer a commercial dimension to the 8 Wonders of Kansas.

"When you go from bait and tackle shops to nuclear power plants, it gets eclectic," said Marci Penner, director of the Kansas Sampler Foundation in Inman.

The names of the finalists were announced Monday by the sampler foundation as part of an ongoing series of contests encouraging Kansans to think about the best of their state.

The only Wichita enterprise to be selected as a finalist was the aviation industry.

Hamilton Middle School gets a move on

LORI YOUNT — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 06:30 CST

Middle school's teachersprepare their new rooms

The overhead projector screen is made out of paper, and there are chalkboards, not whiteboards. But, overall, Hamilton Middle School teacher Barbie Burdick said she is ready for students in her temporary classroom today.

About 300 seventh- and eighth-grade students at Hamilton were set to start the semester this morning at the former Longfellow Elementary School building, 2116 S. Main, about a mile south of Hamilton.

During winter break, construction workers found renovations to the 1918 part of the Hamilton building would be more extensive than the three rooms originally planned, Wichita school officials said.

Unevenness in the concrete frame of the building will have to be repaired.

Cross burned in yard of man who helped troubled youths

STAN FINGER — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 06:04 CST

After he beat the odds and survived quintuple bypass surgery more than a year ago, Wally decided to use the rest of whatever time he has left to help young people who are just like he used to be:

Caught up in drugs or gangs, headed nowhere.

For the past year, he has offered his small clapboard house in southwest Wichita as a place for young adults to hang out, crash on the couch, get a bite to eat or take a quick shower -- or just talk about how life's going, and how they can turn things around.

But someone's not happy with what Wally and his wife are doing.

A caller to Wally's home on Saturday afternoon demanded that they stop, and later that night someone set a cross on fire in the front yard and scorched the wheelchair ramp on their front porch.

Shepherd, king returned to church

JOE RODRIGUEZ — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 06:30 CST

Just in time for Epiphany, the stolen king from Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church's outdoor nativity scene has returned to the church.

So has a shepherd that was stolen with the king last week -- as well as a camel that church members say was taken more than one year ago.

"I'm very pleased," said the Rev. Shawn McKnight, pastor of the church on East Douglas at Roosevelt.

The king, shepherd and a sheep were stolen from the life-size nativity scene sometime between 5 p.m. Dec. 29 and 8 a.m. Dec. 30, according to Wichita police. A fourth piece, another king, was also stolen, but was found Dec. 30 about one block away from the church and returned.

The nativity scene theft was not the first for the church.

Brownback files paperwork for governor's race

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 06:30 CST

TOPEKA -- Sen. Sam Brownback has taken an important step toward launching a campaign for governor in 2010.

He appointed a treasurer Monday for a campaign for the Republican nomination, filing a form with the secretary of state's office.

Under Kansas law, a candidate must appoint a treasurer before raising money.

Republicans have expected for months that Brownback would run for governor. He confirmed last month that he would keep a long-standing promise not to seek another term as senator.

-- Associated Press

Relatives say missing Butler County boy was abused

TIM POTTER — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 06:22 CST

On Super Bowl Sunday in 1999, the year Adam Herrman went missing but no one reported it, one of his aunts says she saw the 11-year-old chained to a bathtub faucet at his Towanda mobile home.

It looked like he had handcuffs on, said his aunt, Kim Winslow. Winslow, now 48, said it was the last time she saw Adam.

Other close relatives of Adam's adoptive mother, Valerie Herrman of Derby, say they saw her abuse him over the years and that he was forced to sleep in a bathtub. In at least one instance, a relative reported alleged abuse to authorities.

Butler County sheriff's officers plan to bring in search dogs and ground-penetrating radar to help solve the mystery of what happened to Adam Herrman.

The Wichita-Sedgwick County Exploited and Missing Child Unit received a tip about a month ago that the child had not been seen for nine years.

Suggested changes make Wichita club owners responsible for safety

BRENT D. WISTROM — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 06:12 CST

Nightclubs may have to add more muscle to patrol parking lots and even public sidewalks under a new proposal aimed at making Wichita's nightlife safer.

The proposal, which began circulating in public meetings citywide Monday night, would make it easier for the city to shut down nightclubs that don't close on time, serve alcohol to minors or have lax security.

The proposed changes in the law follow a year's worth of bar brawls, parking lot shootings and complaints by neighborhood groups that put city nightclubs under a grim spotlight.

But the first neighborhood group City Council members looked to for advice rejected the plan Monday night. After hearing from residents and one club owner, the District 1 advisory board in northeast Wichita voted not to recommend the council pass the proposal as written, saying it left too many questions unanswered.

"I thought it sounds very arbitrary and vague," said Benjamin Stiff, an advisory board member.

As Boathouse sinks into disrepair, options fade

BRENT D. WISTROM — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 05:35 CST

In the three years the Wichita Boathouse has sat vacant while a billionaire, frustrated developers and City Hall have fought over it, it has deteriorated.

It will now need more than $1 million in repairs, city officials say.

The six proposals to use the Boathouse that city officials received three years ago are now void.

City Council members, frustrated by the issue, plan to review their options by Jan. 15 on what to do with the vacant building on the east bank of the Arkansas River.

But they may have fewer options.

KPTS starts digital broadcast today

STEPHANIE BARNARD — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 01:38 CST

KPTS will begin broadcasting a limited digital signal today, a few weeks in advance of the Feb. 17 nationwide digital transition.

The station said in a press release that it needs extra time to remove its analog transmitter, install the digital transmitter and test the signal. Under FCC regulations, KPTS cannot broadcast a full digital signal until the official transition date, so some customers may see a service interruption.

After Feb. 17, all U.S. TV stations will stop broadcasting an analog signal. Those who subscribe to cable or satellite TV will not be affected, but non-subscribers will need either a TV with a digital tuner or a converter box. Coupons for converter boxes can be obtained by visiting www.dtv2009.gov.

KPTS said it has been conducting on-air tests that should only be seen by analog customers so those customers will know they need a converter box.

Viewers can call KPTS for more information at 316-838-3090 or visit www.kpts.org.

Recycle; don't trash old TVs or computers

CONOR SHINE — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 06:01 CST

With the passing of the holiday season and the approaching switch to digital television signals, many Wichitans have TVs and other electronics they no longer need or want.

But just because you've gotten a new computer or TV doesn't mean you should throw your old set to the curb, said Jo Oliver, recycling coordinator for Sedgwick County.

"There's still value in it," Oliver said. "There's value in it if someone else can use it and there's value if you can disassemble it and recycle the parts."

To encourage people to recycle their electronics, Sedgwick County is hosting an e-waste collection event.

The event will be held Jan. 24 at the Kansas Coliseum and is free to the public. Oliver said that people just need to bring their old TVs, computers, DVD players and other electronics to the Coliseum and that staff there will unload it for them. The staff will not accept large appliances.

Indian Center closed to undergo upgrades

CHRISTINA M. WOODS — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 06:16 CST

The Mid-America All-Indian Center's doors are temporarily closed until April as the building undergoes another round of renovations to improve its accessibility for senior citizens and disabled people.

The improvements include:

• Installing two wheelchair-accessible mechanical lifts that can move people from one level to another

• Fixing the floor in the center's Gallery of Nations

• Reconfiguring restrooms

Wichita schools weigh where to make cuts

LORI YOUNT — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 06:15 CST

Usually this time of year, Wichita school officials are finalizing lists of programs they can add next school year, depending on how much of an increase in state money the district receives.

But with a projected state budget shortfall of $1 billion making the future of K-12 funding uncertain, chief financial officer Linda Jones is anticipating a list of programs to eliminate.

"I expect we'll have to do a cut list," she said. "I just don't know to what degree."

At a special school board meetingtoday, Jones will present school board members not with budget recommendations, but with an overview of the process to better prepare them for the tough decisions ahead.

"With all the discussion at the state level about budget issues, there are a lot of questions this year," she said.